VFB STUTTGART VS. BAYER 04 | BUNDESLIGA HIGHLIGHTS

 

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | ROUND OF 16

 

LEVERKUSEN START WELL AFTER NEW MANAGER | BUNDESLIGA

 

PREVIOUS MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGERS HAVE BEEN SACKED THE PAST WEEK 😲

 

ERIK TEN HAG SUCCEED

Erik ten Hag has been confirmed as the new manager of Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.

Ten Hag, who had been out of work since being sacked by Manchester United last October, replaces Xabi Alonso as boss after the Spanish coach left to join Real Madrid.

Leverkusen finished second in the Bundesliga this season but still boast much of the squad that helped them win the title in a historic unbeaten league campaign in 2023-24.

ESPN reported on Saturday that Ten Hag and his representatives held constructive talks with the Bundesliga side and now the agreement has been made official.

Ten Hag, 55, spent just over two seasons at Old Trafford before being dismissed amid a poor run of results just five months after winning the FA Cup. However, Man United have continued to struggle since the Dutch coach's departure.

His replacement Ruben Amorim has managed just seven Premier League wins on the way to a 15th-placed finish, while the club also lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.

Before joining United, Ten Hag won three Eredivisie titles with Ajax and led the team to a Champions League semifinal in 2018-19. He has coached in Germany before, having managed Bayern Munich II from 2013 to 2015.

Erik ten Hag's first job after being sacked by Manchester United has come with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images

"With Erik ten Hag we have brought in an experienced coach with impressive success on the pitch. His six title wins at Ajax were exceptional," Leverkusen's sporting managing director Simon Rolfes said in a statement.

"With three league titles and two domestic cup wins he and Ajax dominated Dutch football from 2018 to 2022. And Erik demonstrated his quality as a coach with the ensuing success at Manchester United under difficult circumstances at times."

In his new role, Ten Hag may have to do without Leverkusen's star performer, Florian Wirtz, who has been strongly linked with a transfer away this summer. Sources have told ESPN that Liverpool are leading the race for the Germany international's signature.

Ten Hag said Leverkusen are: "One of the best clubs in Germany and also among the top clubs in Europe. The club offers outstanding conditions, I've been very impressed with the discussions of the management.

"I've come to Leverkusen to continue with the ambition shown in recent years. It's an attractive challenge to set up something together in this period of change and develop an ambitious team."

- ESPN

FORMER ARSENAL CAPTAIN GRANIT XHAKA CLASHES WITH FANS AFTER BAYER LEVERKUSEN HUMILIATION

Xhaka involved in angry confrontation after Leverkusen were dumped out of the DFB-Pokal by lower-league opposition

Former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka clashes with a fan (Image credit: Getty Images)

Second-tier Arminia Bielefeld defeated German champions Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday to reach the DFB-Pokal final for the first time in their history.

Granit Xhaka apparently took exception to the reaction of Leverkusen’s ultras and took them to task in an ugly confrontation after the final whistle.

The heated exchange was caught on camera. Xhaka and the fans shared a special moment, swapping pointed fingers and furious glares in the aftermath of the holders’ defeat against third-tier opposition.

Shrinking violet Granit Xhaka has form with fans

Xhaka healed his relationship with Arsenal fans (Image credit: Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

It was a difficult night for Xabi Alonso and Leverkusen, whose CEO accused Bielefeld of not watering the pitch and called for the authorities to punish them after the embarrassing 2-1 loss.

Double winners last season, Die Schwarzroten infuriated supporters by squandering their last realistic chance of silverware in 2024/25.

They were emphatically knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich in the round of 16 and are six points behind them in the Bundesliga table with seven matches left to play.

Xhaka was instrumental in their historic season and has started all 27 league games this term.

But the 32-year-old’s willingness to get stuck in with his own supporters is legendary and he was never likely to take the ire of the Leverkusen fans lying down.

“The Switzerland international spent seven of his prime years at Arsenal, and not all of them were straightforward,” recalls the Express.

Xhaka made his views clear when Gunners fans jeered him off the pitch against Crystal Palace in 2019.

“I talked back, I cupped an ear, and when I got off the pitch I threw my shirt on the ground and went down the tunnel,” he told The Players’ Tribune later.

“We had been 2–0 up, they made it 2–2, and then I was taken off after about an hour. I had barely begun to move when I heard the boos.

“And it was not just a few guys in the corner – it was a lot of people. I was shocked. I had never experienced anything like this. When I got close to the tunnel, I looked up at the fans sitting there – and this is the part that I will always remember.”

Xhaka ultimately repaired his relationship with Arsenal supporters and left in 2023 with their admiration intact.

He won’t have the same amount of time to do so at Leverkusen but the flashpoint at Bielefeld was the culmination of a frustrating season and both parties will move on from the confrontation quickly.

Xhaka’s part in the team’s remarkable unbeaten season will go a long way to healing the rift in the cold light of day.

- Chris Nee

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | MATCHDAY 7 | FIXTURES

 

NOTTINGHAM FOREST & ATLÉTICO MADRID ARE ON 🔥

 

LIVERPOOL HANDED A HEAVY BLOW TO LEVERKUSEN | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

 

LOOKMAN DESTROYS BAYER LEVERKUSEN'S UNBEATEN RUN | ATALANTA 3-0 | EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL 2024

 

LEVERKUSEN THE SOCCER TEAM IS FAMOUS, THE CITY NOT SO MUCH

AP Photo 

 LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Manchester, Barcelona, Milan, Leverkusen?

An often-overlooked, small German city dominated by the pharmaceuticals industry is making an unlikely case to be considered one of Europe's soccer capitals this season because of Bayer Leverkusen’s historic unbeaten streak.

Coached by former Champions League and World Cup winner Xabi Alonso, the team finished an entire German Bundesliga season without a single loss, the first ever to do so.

The team can finish the season with three trophies if it beats Atalanta in the Europa League final Wednesday and Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final three days later.

It's a big step up for a team that was until recently known as German soccer's perennial runner-up after placing second in the Bundesliga five times.

It’s also a source of pride for this low-rise city of 167,000, which grew up around the factories of the pharmaceuticals giant Bayer – best known for Aspirin and Alka-Seltzer – and has little to draw tourists besides its internationally famed soccer club.

AP Photo

“It's definitely very important for how people identify,” Bayer Leverkusen fan Sebastian Thiel told The Associated Press ahead of the final league game of the season Saturday. “It makes the city special."

Excluding the 30,000-capacity BayArena, Leverkusen is probably best known for a 51-meter-tall (56 yards) illuminated Bayer logo which shines over the city at night.

That logo, the “Bayer Cross”, is on the club's badge, and inspired the club's red-and-black cross design on its kit this season. At a German Cup semifinal game last month, fans even hoisted their own version over a banner depicting the city's modest skyline to mark 90 years of what, for Leverkusen locals, is no ordinary billboard.

“The club, the company, and the city, they’re all connected,” Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said. “At the weekend, they are fans of football, but during the week they’re working for Bayer. Maybe it’s a special situation you will not find so often."

For an industrial city, Leverkusen can be cosy — perhaps surprisingly so — with single-family houses and small apartment blocks backing onto a park that leads to the BayArena. “More beautiful than people think, but obviously shaped by the big cities around it,” Thiel said of his home town.

Leverkusen was named after the chemist Carl Leverkus, who built a dye factory in the village of Wiesdorf that was later taken over in 1891 by Bayer. Thirteen years later, workers from Bayer founded the sports club that would go on to become famous for soccer. It's been in the top division since 1979, though it had to wait until this season to win its first Bundesliga title.

AP Photo 

“The important thing in Leverkusen, besides the club, for sure is the company,” Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said. “This city is a bit built around the company and I think it’s really special that that so many people are working for Bayer, for the pharmaceutical company.”

Not everyone sees it that way. Many German soccer fans were delighted to see perennial league winner Bayern Munich beaten, but some are skeptical about the new champion's close ties to Bayer. It's one of two Bundesliga clubs with a formal exemption from so called 50+1 rules mandating control by fans. The other is Volkswagen-owned Wolfsburg.

Squeezed between the larger cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf, each with their own big clubs, Leverkusen’s fans are outnumbered by their local rivals, though the fanbase has expanded into nearby towns. The team’s heroics under Alonso are winning over more international fans, too.

The German league victory and the Europa League final have elevated Bayer Leverkusen's profile in Europe. The last time Leverkusen played in the final of a European competition was the 2002 Champions League final, which it lost to Real Madrid. Before that, it won the 1988 UEFA Cup, the precursor to the Europa League.

While most of Europe’s top soccer clubs come from big cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Milan and Paris, Leverkusen is not the only modestly sized place with a strong team. Its Europa League final opponent Atalanta is from Bergamo, population around 120,000, and 2021 winner Villarreal is from a Spanish city with only around 50,000 residents. French club Lens played in this season’s Champions League with a stadium capacity of 38,000 — more than the city’s population.

For now, Leverkusen’s locals are just enjoying the moment.

“We hoped and hoped and hoped, and it’s happened,” longtime fan and retired former Bayer employee Karl Wallner said.

AP Sports Writer Ciarán Fahey in Berlin contributed to this report.

- JAMES ELLINGWORTH

BAYER LEVERKUSEN MAKE HISTORY | 48 GAMES UNBEATEN

 

🚨 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋: Bayer Leverkusen make 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 with Benfica’s record of 𝟒𝟖 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧 in all competitions between 1963 and 1965! 🎞️✨

𝟒𝟖 games unbeaten, 𝟎 games lost so far, 𝟏𝟑𝟒 goals scored after today’s win for Xabi Alonso’s team 😳

𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐘. 🎩✨

THE RACE FOR FIVE PLACES IN NEXT SEASON'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Italy has sealed one of the extra places. (Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images)

 Two leagues have been rewarded with an extra place in next season's Champions League based on performance in Europe this season, all part of the revamp to expand it to a 36-team competition -- and this is how it all played out.

Even though the knockout stages of the Champions League (UCL), Europa League (UEL) and Europa Conference League (UECL) are only at the semifinal stage, we already know which leagues will receive the extra places.

How does it work?

It's about the best average coefficient of all teams taking part in Europe for each country. The two leagues with the best score get an extra place.

Each win is worth two coefficient points, a draw gets you one, and you get nothing for a defeat.

If a match goes to extra time, the score after 120 minutes is used. Penalties are not taken into account if the game is drawn, as they are used to determine the tie rather than the individual match.

There are also bonus points for getting to certain stages, which help give extra prominence to those teams who do well in the higher-profile competitions.

Champions League bonus points

4 - Group stage participation

5 - Round of 16

1 - QF, SF, final

Europa League bonus points

4 - Group winners

2 - Group runners-up

1 - Round of 16, QF, SF, final

Europa Conference League bonus points

2 - Group winners

1 - Group runners-up

1 - SF, final

The points gained by all clubs are added together, and that total score is divided by the number of clubs a country has in Europe in the season. That gives the coefficient average.

For example, if a country has 35 coefficient points and seven teams in Europe, its score is 5.00 for the table (35 / 7 = 5.00.)

So wins aren't worth more in the Champions League?

No, the coefficient system is designed to assess the overall strength of leagues. Wins are the same in all competitions, otherwise it would be impossible for those leagues with few or no teams in the UCL group stage to move up the coefficient ranking.

The bonus points serve two purposes: firstly, to give weight to the strength of the competitions on a sliding scale, and second to provide points to those teams taking part in the UCL who might get few positive results.

In fact, it's better for leagues to have some teams drop down into the UEL for the knockout rounds. Bonus points might be lower in the UEL, but each two-legged tie has five points up for grabs (four for the result and one for progressing to the next round). If a team stays in the UCL, they might not get past the round of 16 and have little chance of adding to the country's coefficient through wins.

Won't this just turn out to be extra places for two top leagues?

If we look back at the previous five seasons, England and Spain take seven of the 10 slots, with Italy and Germany one each. Only in 2021-22 did one of the countries with fewer than four teams in the Champions League (the Netherlands) finish in the top two of average coefficient.

So yes, history tells us that it's highly likely two of the top leagues will have five places in next season's Champions League.

2022-23: England and Italy

2021-22: England and the Netherlands

2020-21: England and Spain

2019-20: Spain and Germany

2018-19: England and Spain

How does the coefficient table look this season?

This is the top 10 as of May 1.

1. ITALY, 19.428

2. GERMANY, 18.357

3. England, 17.375

4. France, 16.083

5. Spain, 15.437

6. Belgium, 14.200

7. Czechia, 13.500

8. Turkey, 12.000

9. Portugal, 11.000

10. Netherlands, 10.000

Borussia Dortmund's victory over Paris Saint-Germain means Germany are in an unassailable position in second and will get an extra place.

Italy had already sealed one of the places last month.

When do we usually find out who gets the extra places?

In many seasons it may be obvious in March, once we know which leagues have teams through to the quarterfinals of the three European competitions. It's been closer this time, but terrible results for English clubs in the quarterfinals, losing four of its five clubs, effectively handed second place to Germany.

However, the 2019-20 season shows that it can go right down to the wire. Germany didn't overtake the Premier League for second place until Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the final of the Champions League. If that's repeated this season, we wouldn't know which league gets the second additional spot until the UCL final takes place June 1.

It would leave two clubs in the domestic leagues praying for the right result in the final. In 2019-20, Bayer Leverkusen and Leicester City finished fifth in Germany and England respectively. Leverkusen would have needed Bayern to win the UCL final to get the place, while Leicester required Bayern to lose the match.

What's the maximum number of places in the UCL and in Europe?

Under the old system, a maximum of five clubs from one association could play in the Champions League. It meant that in the unlikely event teams from the same league won the Champions League and Europa League, yet both finished outside the UCL places domestically, then fourth would have to surrender their place and drop into the UEL.

But from 2024-25 the cap has been removed and it will be possible for seven teams to get a place in the UCL: The top four, fifth through league performance in Europe, and the winners of the UCL and the UEL.

It would also technically be possible to have 11 teams in Europe: The usual allocation of seven, plus the extra Champions League place and the titleholders of all three European competitions (they would all have to finish outside a European position in the league.)

Who gets the extra place?

If we assume the extra spots will go to one of the top leagues, it means fifth place will enter the Champions League and it will have eight (rather than seven) places in Europe. Other European berths drop down a place.

Any season the Premier League gets it, the access will be:

Champions League: 1-5

Europa League: 6, FA Cup winners

Europa Conference League: Carabao Cup winners

If LaLiga, the Bundesliga or Serie A get it, the access will be:

Champions League: 1-5

Europa League: 6, Cup winners

Europa Conference League: 7

In all cases if a team wins the domestic cup and finishing in a European place in the league, the spots drop down one.

If a team wins the UEL or UCL but doesn't qualify for the UCL domestically, that league would have six places in the UCL -- the five places to the leagues plus the UEL or UCL titleholders as an additional. The league would forfeit the domestic place earned by the titleholders.

It can happen with Borussia Dortmund this season in Germany, as they are likely to finish fifth. If Dortmund win the Champions League, Germany would have six teams (the top six) in the UCL but only one in the UEL -- losing the spot earned by Dortmund.

Which teams would benefit right now?

Right now, Borussia Dortmund are fifth in the Bundesliga, with Roma holding that spot in Serie A.

LEVERKUSEN,ROMA, ATALANTA, MARSEILLE,INTO EUROPA LEAGUE S.F.

 Liverpool failed to overcome a three-goal deficit and was eliminated from the Europa League on Thursday despite beating Atalanta 1-0 in the second leg of their quarterfinal matchup.

The result officially ended Liverpool’s hopes of a treble of trophies in manager Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Anfield, though the feat had looked unlikely after the Italian team won 3-0 in the first leg in Merseyside.

“We won the game and that was the reaction we wanted to show,” Klopp told TNT Sports. “It was difficult and we knew it would be, but Atalanta deserve to go through, 100%."

Days after celebrating its first-ever Bundesliga title, Bayer Leverkusen remained on course to claim a historic treble by holding West Ham to a 1-1 draw at London Stadium to stretch its unbeaten streak to 44. Xabi Alonso's team advanced to the semifinals 3-1 on aggregate.

Leverkusen will face Roma in the last four after the capital club beat AC Milan 2-1 in an all-Italian quarterfinal to advance 3-1 on aggregate.

Michail Antonio put West Ham ahead early, heading in a cross from Vladimir Coufal. Jeremie Frimpong came off the bench and equalized in the 89th minute to clinch the aggregate victory and extend the team's unbeaten run.

Alonso’s team will play second-division Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final in Berlin on May 25, three days after the Europa League final in Dublin.

In Bergamo, Liverpool had a dream start after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross hit Matteo Ruggeri’s hand. Mohamed Salah sent goalkeeper Juan Musso the wrong way from the penalty spot for an early lead in the seventh minute.

But the Reds failed to convert any other chances — a long way off from their 5-0 win at Atalanta in the Champions League in 2020.

Atalanta will meet Marseille after the French team topped Benfica 4-2 in a shootout after winning 1-0 to level the aggregate score at 2-2.

With the English League Cup already secured, Liverpool still hopes for a second Premier League title under its German manager but is now in third and two points adrift of first-place Manchester City.

Inconsistent in Serie A, Atalanta has been shining in the second-tier continental league this season. Thursday’s loss was its first in the campaign after six wins and three draws.

It’s only the second time the Italian club reached the semifinals of a European competition.

In Rome, Roma coach Daniele De Rossi marked an extension of his contract announced earlier Thursday by reaching the last four with his team reduced to 10 men.

Gianluca Mancini put the hosts 1-0 up early at Stadio Olimpico after Lorenzo Pellegrini’s shot bounced off the post and the defender was in the right place to net. Mancini also scored the winner in the first leg at San Siro last week.

Paulo Dybala doubled the advantage in the 22nd.

Roma defender Zeki Celik received a red card on the half-hour mark for fouling Rafael Leão but Milan only halved the deficit with a Matteo Gabbia header five minutes from time.

Milan, the seven-time European champion, is second in the Serie A, trailing leader Inter by 14 points on the way to finish the season without a trophy after it was knocked out of the Italian Cup.

After Arsenal and Manchester City were eliminated from the Champions League on Wednesday, the Premier League clubs were knocked out also from second-tier Europa League.

Aston Villa remains the only English club in Europe in the third-tier Europa Conference League.

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Emiliano Martínez saved two spot kicks and Douglas Luiz converted the decisive penalty for Villa to prevail 4-3 in a shootout over Lille and advance to the Europa Conference League semifinals.

After Villa won the first leg of their quarterfinals 2-1 last week, Yusuf Yazıcı and Benjamin André scored in each half for Lille's 2-0 lead before defender Matty Cash's 87th-minute goal evened the aggregate score 3-3 to force extra time.

Villa is into its first European semifinal since 1982 and will face Olympiakos which beat Fenerbahce 3-2 on penalties for a spot in the May 29 final in Athens.

Fiorentina, last year's runnerup, also reached the semifinals after Nicolás González and Cristiano Biraghi both scored in extra time to edge 10-man Viktoria Plzeň 2-0 in the second leg. The opening leg was a goalless draw. The Italian team will face Club Brugge, which won 2-0 at PAOK to advance 3-0 on aggregate, Plzeň’s Brazilian midfielder Cadu received a red card in the 66th minute.

WIRTZ HAT-TRICK & BUNDESLIGA CHAMPIONS 2024 | LEVERKUSEN 5-0 WERDER BREMEN

TWO RISING STARS OF THE BUNDESLIGA MEET AS LEADER LEVERKUSEN TAKES ON STUTTGART

AP Photo 

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Is Bayer Leverkusen's German title challenge for real? How about Stuttgart's chances?

The Bundesliga's two teams on the rise meet on Sunday when league-leading Leverkusen travels to third-placed Stuttgart.

Leverkusen's 21-game unbeaten start to the season is on the line again after a rare moment of vulnerability in a 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.

Stuttgart knocked Dortmund out of the German Cup on Wednesday and is aiming for another upset win in a season already packed with eye-catching performances.

The simple fact that Stuttgart vs. Leverkusen has become a must-watch game in Germany is tribute to Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso and his Stuttgart counterpart Sebastian Hoeness, who both took over relegation-threatened teams partway through last season and turned them around.

WORLD SRADIUM TOUR | BAYER 4 LEVERKUSEN | BEY ARENA

 

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2013: ROONEY SHINES IN GAME AGAINST LEVERKUSEN

Wayne Rooney played very well despite not scoring after helping his team beat Leverkusen.

BUNDESLIGA: DORTMUND BEATEN BY BAYER LEVERKUSEN

Mario Gotze was instrumental in beating the team he grew up knowing, Dortmund. BVB were beaten 3-0 by Leverkusen. Both teams are LaLiga Champs.